“Alright, my turn now.”
Luffy cracked his neck and slowly walked toward Arlong.
Seeing that, Kai casually sat down on a nearby rock while quietly releasing more miniature bomb robots from his pockets.
“This should be enough…” he muttered to himself.
“I still need to save the strongest one for later.
I’m going to blow this whole place sky-high.”
At that moment, Hatchan suddenly cried out in shock from the distance.
“What’s wrong with you, Roronoa Zoro?!”
“This isn’t the time to fall over!
Don’t underestimate me!”
“Hm?” Kai looked over immediately.
Zoro was on one knee, trembling violently as if enduring intense pain.
“His injuries are flaring up…” Kai suddenly remembered that not long ago, Zoro had taken a devastating slash from Mihawk.
“Hey, moss-head, you alright?” Sanji called out worriedly.
Just as he was about to move over, Kuroobi slammed a punch straight into him, sending him flying through a wall.
BOOM!
“I told you,” Kuroobi said coldly, “don’t look away while fighting me.”
After that, he stopped paying attention to Sanji altogether.
In his mind, no ordinary human could survive that punch.
“Arlong,” Kuroobi asked while pointing at Kai and Zoro, “what should we do with these two?”
“Throw the pirate hunter into the water and let him drown,” Arlong replied while dodging another punch from Luffy.
Then he glanced at Kai.
“As for that one… he’s probably a Devil Fruit user too.
Toss him in with the other.”
“But be careful.
I still haven’t figured out his ability.”
“It’s probably connected to explosions somehow.”
He still hadn’t seen how Kai’s attacks worked.
His subordinates had simply exploded one after another.
That alone made him dangerous.
“Understood.” Kuroobi nodded cautiously.
He also knew Kai wasn’t someone to underestimate.
Kai noticed Kuroobi moving toward Zoro and immediately threw an iron rod into the ground in front of him.
“You think you can order me around?” Kuroobi sneered.
“I don’t know what your power is, but once I throw you into the sea, you won’t be able to resist anyway.”
“I’ll deal with you after I finish him.”
To Kuroobi, the infamous Pirate Hunter was still the greater threat.
Kai was just some unknown nobody.
“Hmph.”
Kai gave a cold snort and snapped his fingers.
“Boom.”
BOOM!
A fish-man standing nearby suddenly exploded instantly, dying on the spot.
“You…!” Kuroobi’s eyes widened with rage as veins bulged across his forehead.
“Are you looking for death?!”
Kai slowly raised another finger and stared at him coldly.
“I said… don’t move.”
Cold sweat began running down Kuroobi’s face.
For some reason, the moment their eyes met, he felt an overwhelming sense of danger.
As if moving even one step would get him blown apart.
Grinding his teeth, Kuroobi finally asked, “What exactly do you want?!”
“The fight between men isn’t over yet,” Kai replied icily.
“Why are you interfering?”
“Stand there quietly and wait.”
“The man who’s going to defeat you will be back very soon.”
At that moment, Kai finally understood his role within the group.
He wasn’t just support.
He was the one who eliminated unstable threats and handled unexpected situations.
The strategist of the team.
Kuroobi frowned and glanced outside.
“You mean that guy?” he said dismissively.
“I already killed him.”
No ordinary human could survive a direct hit from him.
Then he looked toward Zoro.
“You can still stand, right?”
“Of course.” Zoro gritted his teeth and forced himself upright despite the pain tearing through his body.
“Thanks, Kai.”
That brief moment of rest had allowed him to recover some strength.
Defeating that octopus freak wouldn’t be a problem.
“You focus on fighting,” Kai said confidently.
“Leave everything else to me.”
He instinctively reached up as if to adjust glasses that didn’t exist yet, only to realize he still hadn’t built them.
“Looks like I need to upgrade my equipment later…”
After all, glasses were essential for a high-IQ man.
“Got it.”
Hearing those words, Zoro finally relaxed.
Even though they had only known each other for a short time, Zoro instinctively trusted him.
Maybe that was just the unspoken understanding between men.
“What arrogant nonsense!” Hatchan sneered.
“You seriously think you can beat me in that condition, Roronoa?!”
“I am Hatchan, the great six-sword-style swordsman!”
“Your death will become part of my legend today!”
Zoro slowly raised his sword and stared at him coldly.
“Let me tell you something first, octopus.”
“There’s a man I absolutely have to meet again.”
“Until that day comes…”
“Not even death itself can take my life.”
It was just a few injuries.
Nothing more.
Kai blinked slightly after hearing those words.
“Death itself, huh…”
So the foreshadowing had already begun this early.
Interesting.
Very interesting indeed.